1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to textile weaving and, more particularly, to a hand-held weaver's reed and the method of using it to beat up filling yarns against the fell of a hand-woven fabric.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Textile weaving is an ancient art. In early times as well as now, a large number of warp threads or yarns are supported on a loom at spaced locations across the width of the fabric to be woven. Alternate warp yarns are held at one end in one "harness", and the remaining alternate yarns are held in a second harness. One harness is movable with respect to the other so that alternate yarns may be raised or lowered to create an opening or "shed" between alternate yarns through which a shuttle passes carrying a weft yarn. Alternating movement of the harnesses between passes of the shuttle creates a woven fabric wherein each weft yarn passes over and under alternate warp yarns.
Other types of yarns may also be joined to the warp yarns. In the ancient art of oriental rug weaving, pile yarns are manually tied or otherwise joined to the warp yarns according to a certain scheme. For example, two weft yarns may be interwoven with the warp yarns, and then individual pile yarns may be tied to adjacent pairs of warp yarns using a particular knot. Two more weft yarns may then be interwoven before the next row of pile yarns is tied. Other schemes may also be used. In woven fabrics in general, yarns which are interwoven with or joined to the warp yarns are collectively known as "filling" yarns. When the fabric is an oriental rug, the filling yarns include the weft yarns and the pile yarns.
In order to weave a relatively dense fabric, the filling yarns must be compressed tightly against the already woven portion of the fabric. This is accomplished by using a comb-like structure or "reed" having teeth or "dents" which are spaced apart so as to fit between adjacent warp yarns. The teeth of the reed are urged against the filling yarns to compress them against the woven portion of the fabric. This process is known as "beating up" the filling yarns against the "fell" of the fabric.
Manual combs used now or in early times for this purpose are generally straight, flat, large and rather cumbersome, having teeth made of wood, bone or horn. Such flat combs are often difficult to pick up when they are lying on a flat surface. A long comb is particularly difficult to use in that both of the weaver's hands are required to manipulate it, and it must be carefully positioned with respect to the warp yarns to insure that the warp yarns are properly engaged by the teeth. Because of the frictional contact between the large number of teeth and the warp yarns, substantial effort is required to compress the filling yarns against the fell of the fabric. This problem is especially pronounced in weaving oriental rugs, in that there are many pile yarns incorporated into the woven structure which must be densely packed together with the weft yarns to produce a high quality rug.
The weaving of hand-made oriental rugs has recently become a popular hobby and pastime for persons of all ages. Prior art hand-held reeds or combs are not well-suited for weaving such a product, however, especially where the weaver is a young child whose size and strength are in sufficient to enable him to comfortably and effectively handle a comb of this type.